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Survival Weekly – 4/7/15…

Welcome to another edition of Survival Weekly, where the real wilderness survival “reality show” plays out everyday, in the wild places around our world. These unscripted stories will give you insight to the true threats and challenges you may face in your outdoor pursuits. So sit back, relax, and read on to get a dose of reality to sharpen your most valuable survival tool. – BPO

Lake Mead National Recreation Area – NV, AZTeen Dies In Jump From Cliff Into Lake Mohave

A body has been recovered in Placer Cove on Lake Mohave where a teen disappeared on April 1st after jumping from a cliff.

Rangers began searching the area around 12:30 p.m. after witnesses said a teen jumped from a cliff to help a swimmer below. The swimmer made it to safety, but witnesses said the teen was seen going underwater.

Rangers located the body underwater using sonar and called in the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Search and Rescue Dive Team for support. The dive team recovered the body.

The Clark County Medical Examiner will confirm the victim’s identity and determine the cause of death. The incident is under investigation.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park rangers and members of the Tennessee Highway Patrol Special Operations and Aviation Section rescued two individuals from the park’s backcountry near the Spence Field Shelter on Saturday. At 6:10 a.m. park dispatch received a call from an Appalachian Trail thru-hiker advising of a pair of hikers in distress near Spence Field Shelter.

The hikers, a father and son, got separated from a third member of their party while trying to make their way from Derrick Knob Shelter to Spence Field Shelter on Friday night, a distance of 6.3 miles. After leaving Derrick Knob the weather deteriorated and the hikers were left traversing over rocky terrain in the dark, driving rain and thunderstorms. Only one member of the party made it to Spence Field Shelter as planned.

In the morning thru-hikers, headed Northbound from Spence Field, were on the lookout for the two hikers that had not made it the night before, and quickly came upon the first individual, who had a knee injury and could not walk unassisted. Not long after the call came in to dispatch of the initial party, other hikers found the father farther north near Thunderhead Mountain.

Two rangers responded on horseback from Cades Cove with a wrangler from the Cades Cove Riding Stables. The hiker with the knee injury was taken out on horseback, while rangers continued on foot to assess the condition of the father who was several miles down the AT. After an assessment by park rangers, it was determined that air extrication would be the best option for rescue.

On Thursday, April 2nd, a 17-year-old hiker became wedged between rocks while scrambling in the Johnson Canyon area of the park. The incident was reported to 911 late in the afternoon.

Several agencies responded, including Morongo Basin Ambulance, Twentynine Palms Fire Department, Marine Corps Air and Ground Combat Center Fire and Rescue, and National Park Service search and rescue rangers and volunteers.

During the six-hour rescue, a mechanical advantage system was applied to no avail, requiring the MCAGCC team to utilize a pneumatic chisel. The hiker was successfully freed and walked out on his own, with only minor scrapes and bruises.

“It’s great to have the relationships the park has with other local agencies,” said Mike Shuman, park ranger and IC. “Their equipment and expertise was key in the rescue and the favorable outcome.”

The park received a 911 call reporting a falling accident above The Loch late on the morning of Tuesday, March 31st.

It was later determined that 28-year-old Janet Heung of Boulder, Colorado, took an 80 to 100 foot roped fall near or on a climbing route called Deep Freeze. She was with a climbing partner at the time.

Heung was located in steep scree roughly 500 feet above The Loch on Thatchtop Mountain. The Loch is three miles from the Glacier Gorge Trailhead. Rangers reached her at 2:30 p.m.; they found that she’d sustained numerous injuries but was conscious.

Rangers lowered Heung down a steep scree slope to The Loch, where an air ambulance was able to land on the frozen lake. At a little after 7 p.m., Flight for Life transported her to St. Anthony’s Hospital.

Fortunately, weather conditions and the location were conducive for assistance from a helicopter. Otherwise, it would have been an even lengthier rescue operation. A total of eighteen rescue personnel had reached the Glacier Gorge Trailhead by approximately 8 p.m., including the park SAR team, Larimer County Search and Rescue and Rocky Mountain Rescue.

Lava Beds National Monument (CA)Child Rushed To Hospital After Fall In Park Cave

A five-year-old Klamath Falls boy fell approximately 20 feet while exploring a lava tube cave with his family on Friday, March 27th.

Park rangers were the first on the scene. Emergency crews were contacted and the child was flown via helicopter to Sky Lakes Medical Center in Klamath Falls and transferred to Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland, where he is now recovering.

Park staff are investigating the circumstances of the incident. Of the approximately 135,000 visitors that visit Lava Beds each year, about 25,000 visit Skull Cave. It is a popular cave due to its large entrance and ice floor. There are no records of a similar incident occurring in Skull Cave.

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This blog and all associated content do not reflect the views of my employer, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the National Park Service, or the Department of the Interior
In other words, this is all me..